Boscov's settles discrimination suit

Boscov's has reached an out-of-court settlement with a former Harrisburg Mall employee who claimed that the Reading-based department store chain discriminates against black workers.

Terms of the settlement are confidential but Boscov's does not admit any wrongdoing, said the chain's lawyer, Larry Rappoport.

There is no requirement to rehire the former employee, Yvette Williams of Harrisburg, Rappoport said. Williams' lawyer, Edward Murphy Jr. of Harrisburg, declined comment on the settlement. In the suit filed nearly a year ago in U.S. Middle District Court, Williams claimed she was forced to quit due to harassment at the Harrisburg Mall store.

At the time, Rappoport called the allegations meritless. Boscov's does not engage in a pattern of discrimination, he added.